I guess you could buy the class III hitch kit, and a scooter carrier. You might hafta spring for air shocks for the little extra load that vorketttes aren't designed for.
Kay, I checked on the towing capacity of our PT Cruiser and Curt says their class I hitch is good for 2,000 lbs and 200 lbs tongue weight. I believe the '87 Corvette towing capacity is limited by how much the driver weighs. At 211 lbs this morning I am pretty sure the Vette is already overloaded. Maybe one air shock on the driver side.
Bob, I get you with the little circles, that should be as close as possible (clocked, almost) to the valve stem, on new tires. I did as I should and always tried to line things up. I don't know if it really made a huge difference to my cars. But I wasn't mounting tires for a Corvette, more likely for a pick-up truck. Even my Mitsubishi Eclipse had 17" rims on it with what I call "rubber band tires" on it. What a pain in the tail end, trying to mount new tires on those rims on a Coats 1010 Powerman tire machine, made years ago.... Along with that, those wheels were (let's say modern) with deep offset to them .. cripes, I could barely get a quarter turn to the cone-shaped nut for the center post on the machine... At one point, for the deep offset wheels, I made a collar on the lathe... I put it in the 4-jaw chuck, very off-center and bored out the center hole. I split the thick side on my band saw. Then setup in the milling machine to drill/ tap a hole for a bolt that would tighten up around the center post of the 1010... Darned it, they have to keep changing things and make your equipment obsolete...
Rick, I used a tire machine a few times in my youth but putting snow tires on our '68 GTO involved the bumper jack base to break the bead and a few pry bars for tire irons. Did it once and decided to buy tires and 14"x6" chrome rims (I think they were $30 each) for the summer tires and left the snow tires on the original black steel rims.
I just had a hearing test done, by the Company... First one in about twenty years or so. I had to fill out a questionnaire before I could enter the semi- sized trailer in the parking lot. So far, everything's as expected... The questionnaire, I had to tell some things I've experienced along the way.... Any explosions? Sure, a rear tractor tire on an Allis Chalmers Model B... That thing was LOUD when that tire went off ... Only about ten lbs of pressure in it when it went... I lost my hearing for about ten minutes over that one. You wouldn't think that low of pressure would be so loud. It really was. Much more than my second explosion, meaning the cannons fired off at Fort Snelling in the Twin Cities, one fine afternoon on the 4th of July... I didn't lose my hearing from the cannons, at all. The tractor tire was a bigger (louder) explosion.
One of the small side effects of my time under the train was my right eardrum being punctured. They called in a neurosurgeon while the orthopedic surgeons were patching me up because blood was coming out of that ear. He somehow determined it wasn't a brain bleed so I guess they didn't just stop work. Even went to the trouble of bringing in a plastic surgeon to do my chin and the gash on my right temple. He sure liked sewing -- I was told he put 180 stitches under and on the skin to pull it all back together. For a long time I had very little hearing in my right ear but I kinda enjoyed it. Lay on my left side with the stump under the pillow to keep the remaining muscles from contracting meant my deaf ear was the only one noise could get to. I slept like a rock through storms, kids crying, the fire siren at the station across the street and the train horns (we've always lived near railroad tracks).
Liane had a couple of episodes of vertigo a few years ago and ended up at an ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) specialist who gave told her to do the Epley Maneuver thing and offered her a free hearing test. He suggested she get fitted for hearing aids and she left. As time passed, it seems her hearing was getting worse but I was absolutely certain she wouldn't wear them for long. I ended up buying her the $300 ones advertised on TV and sure enough, she wore them once and put them away. When she was watching TV by herself, she would crank the volume up little by little and I'd walk into the room to sounds that hurt my ears. Turns out the music and other background sounds were drowning out the voices. Turning up the volume didn't really help but it was her only solution.
It occurred to me the 77" Samsung smart TV might be smart enough to fix the problem. Turns out the TV doesn't but the sound bar Samsung sells does have a solution. There's a Voice Enhance Mode and as soon as I figured out how to get the TV and sound bar to communicate through Bluetooth it was better. When I turned on the Voice Enhance Mode it was a night and day difference. Instead of the volume being 75-90 she can have it at 50 and understand the dialog. I had avoided sound bars because Liane hates Surround sound (something to do with Jurassic Park animals sneaking up behind her) but I figured $120 was a worthwhile gamble.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DY1Z934F?tag=atomicindus08-20
Bob, you should see my tire balancer... Made in the days when rocks were still being invented... My machine is MECHANICAL with a capital M... old, but good. I can do static balancing on it as well as dynamic balancing on it.... Let's start with static balancing... Put said mounted rim on it in the vertical spindle condition... Step on a pedal and the spindle goes 90 degrees to horizontal, but takes out the play in the spindle bearing. Make a mark on your tire, at about 12:00 position with a piece of chalk. Start with your chalk line at 12:00. If it spins and stops, add weight to the top of the rim. Try again... As you get closer, it doesn't spin any more. It is static balanced. Time to put the spindle vertical. The spindle bearing becomes loose again, like a ball. Then it's time to put the motor pulley against the outside of the tire and spin it to... ( I always picked 60 mph). About 700 rpm on a 15" rim. Once that happens, the tire/ wheel should be spinning about flat. If not, there's a lever to pull and there's a plate mounted on a ball shaped mount underneath... Stop the tire/wheel assy. Step on the pedal and put the spindle horizontal again, then there's a built in gage of sorts, like a dial indicator in machine work. That indicator tells you exactly where to put weight and how much. Sounds cave man like, but it really works...
My tire balancer is in someone else's possession. It used to be the local tire store but now it's the mobile tire service guy. He brings his setup to my house, does my tires and takes his equipment away, along with a small wad of my cash.
I always worried about spinning a tire/ wheel assy at 700 rpm next to my body, let alone the windshield of my truck, let alone with newly applied wheel weights, so I always had a chunk of plywood between me and the machine, and my windshield. 700 rpm on any tire/wheel assy is not for the faint of heart...
I take it a step further. When the mobile tire guy is working on my tires in the driveway I am inside the house sitting at my desk and watching him do his thing with the security camera system.
Another thing I'll give Kay credit for is her knowledge of electronics and computers. I'm somewhat "book smart" with my degree as a technician, nothing above that. I know theory, but have no "hands on" experience. Kay has fixed many things along the way. I haven't fixed anything... Ha, I hate that Kay is smarter than me.. but she deserves the credit.
I give Kay credit for being an amazing human being. I deal with caring for five fingernails using my teeth to rip off the torn bits while Kay does artwork on all ten of hers. She gets stuff done that I only dream of and she's had a traumatic brain injury. My brain defect is genetic, probably from whoever my father was.
I wish I had room for tire machines. Instead I have these halfassed flying monkeys that live in a big garage down the road. The upside is that the wicked witch that owns them, keeps them on a pretty short leash.
Kay, I'd probably add an engine hoist and little utility trailer to the hoard before I'd even think about tire machines. We drive so few miles I would completely forget how to use the machines when the tires age out. Also, the halfassed flying monkeys at the big garage near me are free range and their trainer not only taught them to throw feces, he throws his own. The mobile tire guy has expanded and hired real humans and taught them how to do the job right and expects them to do the job as well as he did. I'm sure I'm paying a little more but the convenience and competence are worth it.
That's the funniest and most accurate description of what I see at the average tire shop I think I've ever heard....thanks for the laugh this morning!
Logan and
Dan, I completely agree.
As long as we're on the subject of mounting tires, I bring 2 wheels, one that I curbed with a tire mounted and one "new" wheel to my local tire shop.
I wanted the shop to transfer the tire to the new wheel. They wouldn't do it because the tire was over 4 years old. They claimed that they have had old tires explode when they tried to remount them.
I hardly drive the car and it's garaged so the tire looks brand new. I took it to another shop who grumbled a bit but did the job.
Is this concern about a tire that less than 5 years old legitimate or a scam?
Howard,
Consumer Reports recommends replacing tires that are 10 years old or older. Tire manufacturers recommend 6 years but that might be lawyers' or marketing advice. There are also real factors affecting tire life:
- Heat: High temperatures, especially when combined with underinflation or overloading, can accelerate tire aging.
- Storage: Tires stored improperly (e.g., exposed to sunlight or extreme temperatures) will age faster according to Consumer Reports.
- Driving Conditions: Frequent driving at high speeds or on rough roads can put more stress on tires.
- Underinflation: Driving on underinflated tires can cause them to overheat and age.
- Spares: Even spare tires should be replaced after 10 years.
All that being said, you should check the tires regularly and look for signs of cracks in the sidewalls or tread. Like you, I keep the Corvette (and the Cadillac) in the garage so the sunlight rarely gets to them. The garage rarely gets hotter than 82°F and most days it's 77°F. The Michelin Pilot Sport tires I took off the Cadillac had no more than 18,000 miles on them and the Sumitomo tires I took off the Corvette had less than 10,000 miles on them and the tread depth was 0.87" (22mm). The new Toyo Proxes tires have 0.908" (23.08mm). When I bought the Corvette in 1991 it looked like it had new tires on it but they were RECAPPED Goodyear Gatorbacks. One of them came apart at 20 mph on a right turn. Had to buy four new Gatorbacks and when one of them went flat sitting in the garage 8 years later, they were like brand new but the Gatorbacks were no longer being produced so I couldn't buy one. Bought four Sumitomos in 2007. At 18 years old, they had some very fine cracks at the base of the treads (none in the sidewalls) so I put the Toyo tires on. The two "new" Toyos on the left side are dated 3124 (July 2024) and the ones on the right are dated 0625 and 0825 (both February 2025) so I guess I have to replace two of them in 2030
Aside from one of the brand new Riken tires on the PT Cruiser being underinflated and destroyed because the halfassed flying monkeys at Tire Kingdom didn't know how to install a clamp on valve stem, one of the six month old truck tires on my father's '53 Olds blew up on a paved road in Alaska. It might have been because of the 1,500 miles of dirt road that led to the paved section. I mean, we also had five flats on that unpaved road and carried two spares in the trunk.
A friend in the Corvette club had a pristine 1968 Corvette convertible with flawless silver paint. He put four new Goodyear tires on the car and one of them blew up six months later. The tire tore apart the front fender and Goodyear eventually settled on the fender replacement and complete re-paint.
Bob, congratulations on your test being [-]. A great sigh of relief.
I may have posted these pictures before on GJ, but in this thread, I know those who appreciate older iron will be happy to see them.
I liked your discussion of the use of Evaporust. I'm cheap, I use cleaning vinegar. I used 6% to do this wall decoration:
A 'sad face' pedal car now a wall hanging. This took maybe 2 days, and the vinegar is reuseable. I screen the liquid, and return it to the gallon container for another project.
A rusty motorcycle body panel, covering an airbox, exposure time, ~36 hours, 6% cleaning vinegar:
I was impressed by the results of this soak.
One of my friends has an SSR Chevy, I think it's either a 6.0 or a 6.2 litre GM engine, and a manual transmission. He's had two or three, buying cheap because of needing work , fixing them, and selling them. He owns a collision shop.
He also owns this, and has for many years:
A 1967 427 Tri-Power.
He does vintage car restorations, and C1, C2, and C3 Corvettes he likes the most. Below is a 1969 small-block, one-owner/family car he had in for installing AC into it, using original GM parts, some of which he told me, were 1-year-only, making his work much-harder. However, he has a lot of contacts in the Corvette world, tracking-down parts. Who orders a FL car w/o AC? Well, that's corrected.
He has many neat cars coming through the doors, check-out what's in the background.
In the middle of things (below):
They also multi-task, here's a 400 Pontiac waiting to go into a vintage GTO {below}:
Philip, I rarely have big rust removal jobs to do and when I do, they are too big to put in a vinegar bath -- I'm talking Corvette frame crossmembers and the frame itself. I've been using the same Evapo-Rust for seven or eight years and it still does the job on the items that fit in the ultrasonic 6-liter tank.
I am happy for the people who own fabulous autos. There was a time when I was jealous but my bucket list overflowed a long time ago. I have no problem driving my cars and park them in convenient locations. I don't park at the farthest corner of the parking lot and I don't do inspection walks around them before I leave. Even if that '67 is only the 400 hp (hydraulic cam) 427 and not the 435 hp (solid lifter cam) I would be afraid to leave it anywhere. Like the split window '63 Corvette, those '67 435 hp cars are not all that rare. GM built 10,594 1963 Corvette split window coupes and 3,754 1967 Corvettes with the 435 tri-power engine. GM only built 2,085 Cadillac CTS-V sedans in 2011 and only 26 were produced in Thunder Gray.
I vote scam. 10 year old tires are edging into the iffy range. Tire shops sell tires with 5yo dates on them, if they're on their shelves.
Kay, 10 years is my understanding as well. I'm also told synthetic motor oil has a 5 to 7 year shelf life.
Tires have a shelf life....see
this article for a explanation. Shop saying after 4 years is BULL...
Mark, tire dealers also offer to fill tires with nitrogen, which is supposed to increase tire life. How exactly do I check to see if the gas in my new tires is 100% nitrogegn? They charge $70 to $180 to fill new tires with nitrogen, or $30 per tire for draining and refilling existing tires. Then it's another $5-7 to top them off if they lose pressure.
Most manufacturers want you to swap them after a week. That 6 years **** is new, trying to line their pockets from gullible customers. Michelin has said 10 years, for a long time.
Kay, I believe the: "We can't plug your tire, it has to be dismounted and patched from the inside with our unobtanium patch." Or: "The hole is too close to the sidewall so you'll have to buy a new tire." And: "They don't make that tire anymore so you'll have to buy four new tires to be safe."
Bob
Happy 4th of July to you and all the friends here
@gman007, thank you and I'm sorry to have missed the chance to reply on the actual holiday.
Bob, glad to hear you got a cleanish bill of health. Now can you do me 2 favors? Slow down, you're making the rest of us look bad. Second, can you look to your right, just a little more. That's it. now keeping looking that way for 5 more minutes. And don't come looking for your now missing air jack in my shop.
Kirk, first, thank you. Second I'm doing a huge number of things in my dreams but my waking hours are mostly spent looking for thihngs I know I have but can't remember where I put them. Thank goodness you found my jack, when you put it back, don't tell me where so it will be part of my waking search parties.
